Power plant for airplanes



June 10, 1941.

E. BUGATTI 244,763

POWER PLANT FOR AIRPLANES Filed March 16, 1939 as... June 10, 941

Application March 16, 1939, Serial No. 232,269 In Lnxembllrg March 19,1938 Claims.

. two engines are arranged behind each other in said fuselage and areeach coupled with the corresponding propeller shaft, through atransmission shaft including at least one bend provided with a suitablecoupling.

Other features of the present invention will result from the followingdetailed description of some specific embodiments thereof.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be hereinafterdescribed, with reference to the accompanying drawing, given merely byway of example, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a horizontal axial section of the fuselage of anairplane-provided with two engines arranged according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a. sectional view on the line 11-11 of Fig. 1.

In "the following description, the invention is applied to the case ofan airplane provided with two propellers mounted on the nose of thefuselace.

Two propeller shafts 2 and 3 are mounted in suitable bearings fitted ina common frame I, at

the front part of the fuselage.

Each of these propeller shafts is associated on the one hand at itsfront end with a propeller 4 or I, and, on the other hand at its rearpart with a toothed wheel 6 or I, the two propellers, and also the twotoothed wheels, being arranged immediately behind each other.

I provide, in suitable bearings mounted in frame I, two intermediateshafts 8 and 9, each of which carries a toothed wheel III, II adapted tomesh with wheels 6 and 1, respectively.

In order to connect each of the intermediate shafts 8, 9 with anindependent power plant element I 2, l3, Iprovide a transmission shaftM, IS, with the interposition of at least one bevel gear or deformablecoupling 1 ii, H.

The two engines l3 and II are arranged in the fuselage, one behind theother, at the rear of the pilot's seat l8. 1

Finally, I arrange the transmission shaft l4,

pass on opposite Cardan joints I6 and I1, and they diverge toward therear.

The rear end of shaft I4 is connected, through the intermediate of aCardan joint 22, with the front end of a shaft 23 disposed in suchmanner that its rear end is located nearer the vertical plane ofsymmetry of the fuselage th n its front end. This rear end of shaft 23is thn coupled, through a Garden Joint 24, with the shaft of the rearengine II, which can be nearly in line with the fuselage, owing to thebent transmission. line passing on one side of the pilot's seat. Thisengine l2 can be arranged slightly in oblique in the fuselage (as shownby Fig. 1) in order to reduce the angle of operation of joint 24.

As for transmission shaft l5, it is arranged symmetrically with shaftl4, and in order. to transmit the power to its rear end; which islocated close to the wall of the fuselage, I make use of a gear devicewhich can be supported by a case rigid with the front engine i3. Thusthe front engine l3 can be positioned as centrally as possible withrespect to the fuselage, immediately ahead of engine l2. The rear ofsaid engine l3 may be at a greater distance from a vertical planepassing through the center of the rear Cardan joint of shaft l5 andparallel to the vertical plane of symmetry of the fuselage than thefront part of said engine IS, in order to obtain an obliquity analogousto that of engine i2.

Thus, owing to the fact that, starting from driving shafts which are ata relatively small distance from each other, the power is transmittedthrough transmission lines which are spaced apart in their intermediateparts so as to pass around the pilot's seat and finally lead to parallelshafts 8 and 9, it is possible to reduce the principle of the presentinvention as comprehended within the scope of the appended propeller atthe front end thereof. a pilot seat.

within said fuselage behind said propeller, at

least one motor mounted within said fuselage behind said pilot seat, anddrive shaft means operably connecting the shafts of said Propeller andsaid motor, said drive shaft means being, in plan view, in the form of abent line passing to the side of said pilot seat.

2. In an aircraft fuselage having at least one propeller at the frontend thereof, a pilot seat within said fuselage behind said propeller, atleast one motor mounted within said fuselage behind said pilot seat, anddrive shaft means operably connecting the shafts of said propeller andsaid motor, said drive shaft means being, in plan view, in the form of abent line passing to the side of said pilot seat at a height less thanthe height of the shoulders of a pilot seated in said seat and within anelliptical envelope circumscribing the pilot's body.

3. In an aircraft fuselage having two coaxial rear end is further fromthe vertical plane of symmetry of the fuselage than its front end, thearrangement of the rear section being such that its rear end is nearerto said vertical plane of symmetry than its front end, the shaft of therear motor being substantially centered within said fuselage. v

5. In an aircraft fuselage having two coaxial propellers mounted forturning in opposite ropellers, two motors mounted within said fuselagepropellers mounted for turning in opposite rotational driving directionsat the front thereof, a pilot seat within said fuselage behindsaidpropellers, two motors mounted within said fuselage behind said pilotseat and arranged one behind the other, and drive shaft means operablyconnecting the shafts of each of said motors, respectively, with theshaft of one of said propellers, one of said drive shaft means being inthe form of a bent line, said drive shaft means passing, respectively,on opposite sides of the pilot seat. I

4. In an aircraft fuselage having two coaxial propellers mounted forturning in opposite rotational driving directions at the front thereof,a pilot seat within said fuselage behind said propellers, two motorsmounted within said fuselage behind said pilot seat and arranged onebehind the other, and drive shaft means operably connecting the shaftsof each of said motors, respecbehind said pilot seat and arranged onebehind the other, and drive shaft means operably connecting the shaftsof each of said motors, respectively, with the shaft of one of saidpropellers, one of said drive shaft means being in the form of bentlines, said drive shaft means passing, respectively, on opposite sidesof the pilot seat, the drive shaft means connecting the front motor toits propeller including a first shaft section arranged in such a mannerthat the front end thereof is nearer the vertical plane of symmetry ofthe fuselage than its rear end, the shaft of said front motor having adriving ear keyed to the front end thereof, a driven gear in mesh withsaid driving gear, said driven gear being mounted on said motor fartherfrom the vertical plane of symmetry of said fuselage than said drivinggear and having a relatively short forwardly extending second driveshaft section rigid therewith, and an intermediate Cardan jointarticulately connecting the front end of said second section with therear end of said first section.

